Our Top 5 Tips To Widen The Margin of Victory in Close Contests
Start with a rigorous, numbers-oriented analysis of your company’s shareholder base – ninety days before the record date, and again, as of the record date.
Misguided SEC “Guidance” On No-Action Letters
And on Allowing Non-Shareholders to Submit Shareholder Proposals as “Proxies”: Time for Some Tough Talk, We Say
Ever Think About a Tied Vote?
Or Of What To Say And Do If Some Results Seem “Too Close To Call?”….Very Smart To Do These Days
Financial Choice Act Passes the House, With Major Changes in Proxy Proposal Rules:
ISSUERS; BEWARE OF GETTING WHAT YOU WISH FOR, WE WARN…
The Hottest Proxy Issues in 2018
Q&A with Bruce H. Goldfard, President & CEO of Okapi Partners
Hot Issues for 2018 Proxy Season Preparation
Ron Schneider, Director of Corporate Governance Services, Donnelley Financial Solutions
Striving To Deliver Greater Convenience and Control
An Interview with John Dunn, Vice President, U.S. Corporate Issuer Sales at Broadridge.
A Pre-Proxy Season Q&A With Broadridge
With annual meetings being top of mind for many companies at this time of the year, the Optimizer sat down with John Dunn, Vice President, US Corporate Issuer Sales at Broadridge to get his perspective and learn what is new at the company.
OUR TOP TIPS ON CHOOSING A PROXY SOLICITOR
It’s been a long time since we last shared our top tips on choosing a proxy solicitation/proxy advisory firm…And wow…the industry has changed a lot since then…not least in terms of the specific “talent” that each firm has on board, as noted above…which, please note well, is the number-one thing that proxy firms have to offer.
The Weirdest Events To Cross Our Desk During The Spring Meeting Season
Despite the relatively quiet season on the whole, we, and our Team of 50 Independent Inspectors of Election, experienced more weird and wacky events than ever before – and more events where corporate managers, and in many cases their outside counsel too, seemed way behind the curve.
Some Tips for Choosing a Proxy Solicitor/Advisor
“Do not try this at home” – even if you think you have a good safety net: You will almost certainly find yourself “in over your head” one day, you will likely leave a lot of votes ‘on the table’ as unvoted…and, worst of all, your tabulation will have virtually no credibility if challenged.
Insights on some of the most important tools and skill-sets that public companies need to have at the ready as we head into the 2017 proxy season…
Interview with Bruce Goldfarb, President & CEO of Okapi Partners
Yikes – They’re Back, As Warned: Last-Minute Proxy Fights… And Supposedly “Irrevocable” Proxies
And Those Dangerous “Floor Votes” Too… Very Badly Advised!
Proxy Statements Transitioning From Compliance To Communications-Focused Documents
By Ron Schneider, Director, Corporate Governance Services, RR Donnelley
Another Proxy Voting Scam – And The Scamsters – Revealed
SCAMSTERS MASQUERADING AS INVESTORS MANUFACTURE PROXY VOTES IN A FAILED AT EMPT TO SEAL A DEAL…THE BIG SURPRISE? NOTHING REALLY NEW HERE: WHO’S WATCHING THE PROXY BIZ ANYWAY?
Have You Carelessly “Stratified-Out” Your Most Loyal Voters?
Long-term readers will recall, we hope, our many articles on “The Best and Worst Annual Meeting Materials to Cross Our Desk” each year – many of which inspired readers to do better, we were told – many of which engendered hearty belly-laughs – and some of which inspired pure pity, for the poor fools who’d fouled up badly.
Here’s Another Sea-Change Re: “Social” And “Sustainability” Proposals: It’s Not “Just About The Nuns” Anymore
In late March, your editor attended a dinner meeting where a very, very lively discussion of the newest and “hottest topics” that attendees feel are out there on the Annual Meeting front super- charged the entire evening.
Focusing On Employee, Officer And Director Votes
Getting Out The “Employee Vote”… Including Votes From Officers… And Directors…
Still Another Sea-Change This Season: Four Companies Sue Gadfly John Chevedden After The SEC Refuses To Grant ‘No-Action Letters’… Prompting Fast And Furious Reactions By Activist Investors
More ill-winds seem to be sweeping the streets in the run-up to the spring meeting season: So far this year, four well-known companies have sued gadfly John Chevedden, seeking to block his non-binding proposals from coming to a vote: EMC Corp., Express Scripts Holding Co., Omnicom Group, Inc. and Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Proxy Fights: Our Top 10 Tips For Coping Effectively
What Every Public Company Need To Know And Do If Activists “Reach Out To Them”.
What To Do When Activists “Knock”
The subject of how to prepare for – and what, exactly to do – if an activist investor knocks on your door – has been a very hot one of late.
Activist Investors, Shareholder Proponents, Gadflies And Other Would-Be Speakers At Shareholder Meetings
Our Top 10 Tips For Dealing With Them
Re-Energizing Your Retail Investor Voters
Every year for at least the past five years we have been trying to highlight some of the many cases we see each year – including most of our annual “Horror Stories”
How To Cope With The New Activism?
Advice From Bill Fiske of Georgeson, Bruce Goldfarb of Okapi Partners, Tom Germinario of D.F. King, Michael Mackey of Alliance Advisors, Ron Schneider of RR Donnelley and Artie Regan of Regan & Associates.
What’s Up With All Those Proxy Solicitors?
As The Equity And Deal-Markets Continue To Stagnate, And With Publicly Traded Companies And Their Registered Shareholders In Free-Fall.
